


Traveler

by littlesnowflake



Category: Original Work
Genre: A wizard travels between worlds to restore balance, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bad Ending, Dragons, Dreams and Nightmares, Eventual Smut, F/M, Kissing, Magic, Magicians, Making Out, Mermaids, Mystery, POV Alternating, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Phoenix - Freeform, Romance, Saving the World, Sexual Content, Spells & Enchantments, Tragic Romance, Wizards, travelling between worlds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:48:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesnowflake/pseuds/littlesnowflake
Summary: In order to restore the balance between worlds, Nicolas must use his magic to travel between realms and fulfill his missions.
Relationships: Kayla/Eric, Melanie/Phillip, Nathalie/Nicolas, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 13
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first story here.   
> I didn't write in a long time and I have never written in English till now (not my first language). I hope you will enjoy this story!

_I will tell you a story, a story about a man who has to travel through different worlds to keep the balance between them, between magic and no magic, between humans and creatures, between power and powerless._

The table was full of cards, books, and a big crystal ball, the magic energy trapped inside acting chaotically. It felt like something was wrong, something happened, something that made the entire magic energy shake and explode, running and coming back confused. It felt like it couldn't find its place, it didn't know where to return, where it belonged, where it should stop, and how it should act. The cards kept changing the pictures, the shapes and symbols jumping from one to the other. The books started to shake like there was something inside them trying to escape.

Everything acted strangely. And she felt everything. It was painful, every bone from her little body hurt, her heart was beating too fast and the air seemed to choke her. She tried to calm the energy, to calm her body, to guide the magic in its place but she couldn't, it was too much for her. She couldn't scream, she couldn't move, she couldn't do anything and in the end, her body couldn't handle it anymore.

When she woke up it still hurt but not as bad. She was dizzy, tired, and confused. Her sight was blurry and her ears could catch the sound but her brain couldn't process it. It took a few minutes for her to understand where she was. Her head felt so heavy and the sound around her seemed more like an annoying noise. But his warm touch was calming and it was enough for her to feel safe. 

"What happened?" He asked trying to keep a steady voice and not to scare her but she knew that he was scared and confused, just like her.

"Something… made the magic lose its place for a little." She knew that he didn't understand but she appreciated that he didn't insist on that, instead he took her hand in his and rested his head on the bed, closing his eyes.

Shortly, both fell asleep.

The man knew that she felt everything, that she saw something but he also knew that she was too young to understand, too young to interpret what happened. He looked at them from the door with sad eyes. She was weak, she always was since she was born, her body couldn't handle her power and her magic consumed her life energy day by day. He was surprised that she even woke up. Surprised and relieved as well, it was hard to find someone like her and he knew that it was hard to break their bond. But sadly he also knew that one day the boy will have to lose her. He left quietly thinking what his next move should be. Not just them felt what happened, but everyone did in a way or another.

After hundreds of years, _a Traveler was born._

***

He was crying. He kept shaking her and screaming. He was calling her. Her name sounded so weird. She couldn't understand what was happening, why she felt so much pain. Her body felt like it was on fire and cold at the same time, she felt dizzy and confused. She tried to touch his face and she saw the blood on them. She saw the sadness in his eyes. He hugged her tightly. She could hear his heart beating fast. 

It hurt, everything hurt…

It was a dream. She knew that but it didn't help. She was still scared and confused, she couldn't understand why she kept seeing this. 

It was weird to say that a 6 years old kept seeing a man crying standing beside someone. She saw him through that person's eyes. It was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman, he called her or his name but she couldn't remember exactly. But she knew that both of them suffered. One was losing someone and the other was losing her or his life. The dreams were weird and sad, but what scared her more was the fact she couldn't speak about them. She wanted to tell someone about it, to ask for help, to find someone who could tell her why and what was happening but she couldn't. Every time she tried it felt like the words were stopping in her throat like they tangled together and made a knot that stopped her from talking. And it was painful, it felt like she was suffocating, she couldn't breathe or speak and for a few seconds, it felt like she was going to die. So she just gave up. 

With slow moves, she got up from the bed and walked away from it. 

She couldn't sleep anymore. 

I should tell you her story as well, no? Who she was and why she was important for this little tale. She is a human girl. A human girl with a lot of weird dreams about a young man who kept crying. She never met him, she was 6 after all, even if she did how could her mind create such a sad story? But she still hoped that everything was her imagination. Here, if you have magic you are seen as a threat and killed as quickly as possible. She didn't want it to be magic and somehow she knew it wasn't. It just felt weird, hard to explain, impossible to put in words but she knew that her dreams were not related to magic. Well, she didn't know how magic felt either after all… So maybe it was magic? 

Oh, I should tell you things about her. I almost forgot. She is Nath. Just like I said, a human girl. She was born on a small farm and grew up with a lovely family. She had weird dreams since she could remember. Not all of them were the same. Most of the time it was this one, but sometimes she would dream about him, but he was happy, he was smiling and laughing. He was holding her hand and she felt happy in that dream. Another was with him getting hurt. She was feeling so much pain in that one. She was scared and hurt and didn't know what to do. All these dreams had so many emotions that she couldn't understand. 

The happy family life didn't last long. Her brother that was older than her getting sick. He had tuberculosis and died. She lost him. When she couldn't sleep he would sing to her, read her stories, and stroke her hair until she fell asleep. She loved him and losing him hurt so much. In all these nights she would remember him and cry in the corner of her room feeling lost and alone. 

Her father didn't handle the loss of his son. He started drinking, he started to lose money and one night he got into a fight at the bar and got himself killed. Her mother killed herself shortly after. She couldn't handle it anymore, she hanged herself in the garden by a branch of an old tree. Nath found her. She couldn't speak for months. Then she was taken by her grandmother, the mother of his father.

She was hugging her knees in the corner of the room. _She cried this night as well and no one will know that._


	2. A connection beyond worlds

_ Everyone was dead. She knew those people and she felt pain, sadness, and guilt. Guilt for their dead. But he was standing. He was there, standing in the middle of dead bodies looking lost, confused. His body was covered in blood but he didn't look like he was hurt. It wasn't his and she knew that. And somehow she knew what was going to happen. She was going to be next. But her body didn't move and she wasn't scared. It felt like she was accepting like she was somehow fine with her getting killed. Weirdly, it felt right.  _

Nath's dreams didn't stop. No matter what happened during the day, she will always dream. But something did change. All of them started to be more painful and more violent. She was getting hurt and the pain felt real. She would wake up trying to scream but there was no sound. The mind of that person was so complicated. She was somehow in love and pain at the same time. She lost friends in those dreams, people she cared about deeply. She also felt guilty for their deaths. Nath couldn't understand it, she was feeling so much in such a short time and so many of them conflicted with each other.

As she grew up Nath started to feel more and more confused. Her dreams were more complicated than when she was younger and she still couldn't put the piece together. She even started as the years passed to feel weird. It felt like she was never in the right place, she didn't belong to any group or home. And it made her feel a type of loneliness that she couldn't understand. She didn't have a family anymore, she didn't have her home or someone who could understand her, but she felt like this for years. This, this loneliness that was always with her was different. She felt incomplete. But she didn't know why or what could help her and after a few years she stopped to think about it. 

She started working at a bakery. Her grandmother died and her aunt, a nice and kind woman who lost her husband after he was accused of practicing magic, took her to another city to work at her bakery. It was quiet, people were polite and distant. She wasn't a person who enjoyed having small conversations or talking about gossip so she did enjoy the coldness of these people's personalities. 

_ But soon things will change. _

***

"Don't you think he is a little too… immature to go?" She asked with her sweet and calming voice. 

"You think so?" He poured a glass of water and gave it to her. His eyes were focused on her face. She still looked tired, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. _"You have to be fine, you have to!"_ He thought while sitting in the bed next to her. "Who is the first person he has to find?" 

"A Phoenix man. He was separated from his lover, a mermaid. They were sent to different worlds before that last Traveler died to be sure things will go well, at least this is what I know, I may be wrong." She started to drink the water slowly. "You know that they are very close to their partners, depending on the distance they can even be in pain if they split. They also mate just once until one of them dies."

"That means…" He was horrified by that. He took the glass from her hand and put it back on the table. He remained focused on it for a few seconds. "I think I started to worry too."

"You are supposed to be the optimistic one!" 

He focused on her again. Her eyes were tired but they still shined. The golden color of them was mesmerizing. Her short black hair was messy from sleeping, her lips were slightly wet from drinking water and her skin was pale from standing inside for so long. She looked so fragile. He started to stroke her hair. She looked weak but she was strong, stronger than he will ever be and that scared him. He wasn't ready to let her go, not now, not ever. 

"Do you want something to eat? Some fruits maybe?"

"Yes, but first I want something sweet."

He looked at her confused. She pulled him closer with her little hands and kissed him. At first, he was surprised but his hands quickly found her small waist and hugged her. 

After that day when she was younger, when she felt the magic acting chaotic, a woman with a baby came to them scared. The child was shining because of the magic energy that created a shield to protect him. His mom took him to their house and they both remained there for a while. Soon the father came along and the boy grew here with them like an older sister and brother. 

They didn't have a family until they arrived at the old man's house. The girl couldn't remember anything related to her parents or any member of her family. She didn't remember her childhood or where she belonged. He found her in the street crying. He had been on the streets, he was born there and he knew everyone like him, but he didn't know her. This was their first meeting. 

Soon, he showed her how to steal money and food, where she could hide from people who may run after her, and where she should stay when it's a rainy day. And after a few months, the old man found them. A 5 years old girl and a 9 years old boy. 

They tried to steal for him but they got caught. At first, the man felt the power of the girl. The power was not around her as usual but the power was coming inside of her. So he took them out of curiosity. Then he saw the connection that the girl had with the magic energy from this world and how she could sense changes or danger. 

But he also saw that the magic was weakening her body. The problem with people who are like her is that they couldn't control it. She couldn't stop the visions she couldn't control how much of her energy she was using. He knew that one day her body would stop working.

On the other hand, the boy who at first looked like a weak magician ended up having healing powers just like him. So he took him as his disciple and taught him everything he knew. 

They also took care of the new Traveler and taught him a lot of what they knew, from magic to stealing and running. He grew up with them. 

Kayla, Eric, and Nicholas.

***

It was raining. The air was hard to breathe and she felt like she was suffocating. 

She was at the bakery selling the last few pieces of cake and pie. She felt dizzy, something heavy was on her chest and the air was not getting to her. At first, she tried to calm down and breathe but after a few seconds, she started to panic. It didn't work and she didn't know what was happening.

From the chair behind the counter, she was looking scared around. She felt panic because she couldn't breathe. And it felt like something bad would happen. And it did indeed.

It was getting dark and she was supposed to close the bakery. But she felt so dizzy and sick, she was afraid to get up from the chair. It felt like she was going to fall if she tried. She looked at the door, no one came in the last few hours and she knew she was supposed to get up, lock the door and take care of the rest of the desserts that didn't sell. She tried to focus on that and to get up. And she did just to fail back in the chair. 

And the door opened.

The bell sounded so bad like someone was scratching the wall with their nails, the sound was high and annoying to her. Someone got into the bakery. He entered so violently, closing the door behind him quickly and coming to her. He was wearing a black rainy cloak. The water was coming down on the wooden floor. She couldn't see his face but as he got close the air felt different. 

"Help me! They are following me!"

She was shocked and confused. She got up from the chair when he entered and now she was looking at him questioning the entire situation from behind the counter. Soon she heard the noise outside. The guards. And she felt that she needed to help him. Why? She didn't know him. Why are they following him? What he had done? Too many questions, no answers, and no time to find them. 

She grabbed his arm and led him to the little door which led to the kitchen and after that, she showed him the back door. 

"Thank you!" He whispered as he left the building.

She quickly picked some bowls and smashed them to the ground. She picked some flour and splashed it on her clothes. She took a knife and cut the skin from her palm, just enough to make an impression. She had to be credible for her sake. She heard the guards coming into the bakery. As she heard the bell she laid on the floor with the knife beside her and with her eyes closed. That will slow the guards... Maybe.

"Do you hear me?" A male voice was talking to her. He started to shake her in an attempt to wake her up. She heard everything. The confusion of his companions, their swearing and annoyance. 

She opened her eyes slowly and faked her pain in the head. She looked confused and she tried to understand what the man was saying she looked at the hand and screamed. The faces of the guards were so funny that she barely stopped a smile. Then she told them that a man came acting weird, he pushed her and attacked her. She couldn't tell where he left or when. She knew that he picked a knife and she tried to protect herself and that's how she got that cut. He probably pushed her and hit her head somehow. But she wasn't sure and she was scared.

And she did fool the men at that moment.

His first mission and he already got into trouble. The old man will be so mad when he will find out. Because the world had magic most of his features were not changed and from the moment he got here he just stood out immediately. People got scared and alerted the guards and he was chased through this place like a little mouse followed by cats. He got into the first place where he could ask for help hoping that someone will be kind enough to do it. And it was. The girl. 

His heart was beating fast. It wasn't just the adventure that just happened, it was also that girl. He felt weird. He felt like he knew her. But he couldn't. 

Now he was hiding in an abandoned house very close to the exit from the city. He was supposed to be in the center, close to the King. He had to found the Phoenix man and he could feel his presence there. Somewhere in that castle. But he couldn't get in there. His eyes were such a bright and usual color, he was taller than most of the people here, he attracted unwanted attention too fast. 

He laid down on the cold floor. Maybe he could not reach him physically, but maybe he could contact him differently. Kay taught him how to do it but he never tried without her help. He tried to relax his body and focus on the man. He knew how he looked. He knew his name and his pain. He just needs to connect with him. 

And he did it. And he was shut down. 

"Damn it!" He screamed as he got up holding his head. It felt like his head may explode. "Seems like the Phoenix doesn't want to talk. That leaves me no choice. I have to go there." 

Nath was cleaning the mess that she made. She was supposed to feel tired but she didn't. She was scared. She just tricked the king's guards for God's sake!

"What if they will find out? What is going to happen to her?” Her heart was beating fast. ”This was such a bad idea. Who knows what the guy did? Maybe he killed someone! What if I help a killer? What if she risked to save him and he got caught anyway? Damn it! What if he got caught and he told them about her?"

She finished cleaning the place but the panic didn't leave her. It was late at night and she didn't feel like going home and she knew she couldn't sleep. She got her book and tried to distract herself. She was alone and for the first time in her life, she truly felt sacred. 

"Why did I help him? What did I feel like I had to? Why?"

Somehow she fell asleep on that chair. And she didn't dream that night. But the sleep was short and her alarm clock ended up being someone that almost gave her a heart attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wait for your opinions!


	3. The Troublemaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our hero is doing a better job at creating problems than solving them.

"I'm so sorry dear, I didn't want to scare you." the owner smiled at her. She looked tired and worried. "It's just you didn't arrive at home and I thought that maybe something happened to you."

Nath looked at her confused and sleepy, thoughts running through her head. She had to tell her what happened, but she didn't know if she should tell the truth or the same lie as she told the guards. She hated the King and his guards. Because of them, her husband is dead. And she was her aunt, she was, somehow, family. But what could she say? That she felt the need to help some weird guy who she didn't know anything about? Not even why he was followed by the guards. And the King's puppets didn't talk about it, and she knew that asking may look suspicious. 

"Someone got inside when I was getting ready to close. I was in the kitchen and he attacked me and ran through the back door. The guards were chasing him but they lost his trace."

"Oh, God! He hurt you?" she was terrified. 

Nath showed her hand that was bandaged with some old white fabric that she found in the kitchen and was luckily for her, clean. Well, it was at some point, now it was stained with her blood. She wanted to tell her more, to talk about him but then something happened. She opened her mouth to describe how he looked and how she felt when he got in but the words stopped in her throat and she felt like she was choking. She couldn't say anything and just scared her aunt even more. She started to cough as she tried to get as much air as possible in her lungs. It happened just like when she wanted to talk about her dreams, she couldn't talk about him as well. 

The woman was so worried about her health that she told her to go home and rest, Nath tried to refuse but the owner didn't want to hear it and she sent her home anyway.

The light of the sun was still weak. It was early in the morning and most of the people were not out. The commercial area was in general quiet at this hour. The few people that you can see were the owners of the stores and maybe a few guards. It was too early for any scandal or conflict so there were only a few. 

The King liked control and he hated magic because he couldn't control it, it was unpredictable and powerful and he was weak and scared. Because he didn't have a strong personality, he was neither smart nor good at negotiating, he didn't know how to fight or to create a strategy, and he didn't know how to rule so he tried to scare and kill everything and everyone that could be dangerous for his position. He tried to control everything and everyone, at least in public. Nath felt that his obsession to have eyes everywhere only showed his lack of confidence. He was a ruler scarred by his people. It wasn't easy to see that. Most of his guards were here to spy on them, to be sure no one does anything that could mean something dangerous, and what can be more dangerous than magic? So they were focused to find anyone that looked out of place, weird, suspicious,  _ and it seems that he didn't know that. _

On the way home, the road looked empty but she knew that somewhere there must be a guard watching her. Here, everywhere must be a guard. They didn't know anything, they believed her but she was still scared. She could feel eyes on her, following her, and that gave her chills. She tried to stop herself from pausing and scanning the place because that would look weird and may attract attention, but her eyes were following every leaf that was falling and she turned around at every sound. 

And she bumped into someone. She wasn't paying attention to the road so that was no surprise but something felt strange. The air around her started to feel weird and her entire person knew who he was and didn't know at the same time. She raised her head to look at him. He was tall, taller than her with a head, a black cape covering his body, and a good part of his face as well. Her hand moved like she was in a trance. She touched the black fabric and moved it just a little so she could see him a little better. 

She lost herself for a moment. His eyes were bright and at the same time a deep pink color. They looked weird like they were made out of crystals. She knew those eyes. At that moment she could see his face covered in tears and the blood on his hands. She could hear his voice screaming and how strong were his arms when they hugged her. She could remember how he smiled and how happy he looked in a dream and how miserable he looked in the other.

"I want to ask you another favor." he whispered while getting close to her face. He was a bit confused, she seemed lost in her thoughts and her hand was still on his cape. "Can you help me?"

At the sound of his voice, she woke up and took her hand back. She was still in shock. It couldn't be true, it was impossible, but here, in front of her, was the man that she saw in her dreams since she could remember. Somehow he looked different but she couldn't put her fingers on what gave her that impression. 

"I… I-I…” she was babbling.  _ “I know you!” _ she thought. 

She felt a rush of adrenaline in her body and suddenly she realized what was happening. The man who was followed by the King's guards last night was standing in front of her asking for help for the second time. She stopped looking at him and started to look around scared. She may seem paranoid but she didn't care, this man could get her in a lot of trouble that could cause her death and she didn't want to. She tried to run away from him, to go back or past him, to just move but she couldn't, it was like her feet were glued to the ground. 

"No, no, no…" she murmured.

He looked confused at her. Something was happening with her but he didn't know what. Did he scare her? Maybe his eyes were to blame for? His hands moved slowly and rested on her shoulder in an attempt to get her attention and it worked, but her eyes were full of panic. And then he heard the guards approaching. 

"Damn it!" 

And he ran away from them. He started to hate this world and this mission but as he got away from them a short and faded scream made him stop for a second. He just created more troubles for him and the worst, for her too. 

Unfortunately for them, the guards didn't have the change of shift and they were the same man from last night and, this time Nath couldn't trick them again. 

_ Our Traveler was great at creating problems rather than solving them. At the worst part, he just got an innocent person into big trouble.  _

He tried for the second time to talk with the Phoenix man but his connection with him and failed again. So he tried again. And again. And again.

***

"Where is he?" she was in a cell. It was cold, dirty, and uncomfortable, but it didn't matter, the man screaming at her was what made her shaking and scared. "If you would tell me by your will I will force you to do it!"

"I-I-I don't know…"

She didn't know that and she didn't care at all, but she could tell from their faces that they didn't believe her and they will do anything to get their wanted answer. One of them opened the cell and got close to her. 

"Well my love, I don't believe you. You played us once, how can I trust you know? If you know and you are lying, I'm sure you will talk soon, and if you are telling the truth, well… You will die anyway."

They had in plan to torture her for a little to see if she speaks. And if she does not and resists the interrogation she will end up with her hand cut off. The King didn't want magic and didn't want anyone who supported it because they were to him just as dangerous. The King was also bad at keeping his guards in control so a lot of innocent people died because of them. And she knows that. And she knew where she was going when after a few hours they came after her and dragged her out and led her to another room. She knew everything and she was scared of it. 

She was dumped on the floor. She felt how her knees hit the cold and harsh ground. Then she felt the leather boot that hit her in the back. And she heard the laughs. And the question over and over again. A hand grabbed her hair and forced her to stand on her knee. He slapped her. And she was hit in the back again. She was then forced to get up and one of them gave her a kick in her stomach. She couldn't breathe and she fell trying to gasp for air. 

They got tired at some point and they decided to try one more thing and then to sentence her to death. She didn't talk and they didn't care if it was because she was clueless or because she was devoted to that man.  _ This was fun for them.  _

They talked and concluded that an interesting method will be to use a hot piece of iron and burn her. So one of them ripped her dress at the top. She still had some power in her so that part didn't get to be so easy. She screamed and kicked, and they had to keep her in place so one of them would rip the material. And they placed the iron on the right side of her chest, right above her breast. And she screamed, her voice going past the room echoing. They had in plan to do this a few more times.

"Could you please explain to me what is happening here?" it was a deep voice, a man's voice. 

"Sir, she was caught helping a man who practices magic, she helped to escape and-"

"And do you have any proof?"

"Yes, sir. They meet again this morning and-"

"And what? And who the hell gave you orders to do an interrogation? Do you think because you have a sword and a nice jacked you are allowed to make these decisions? From what I know, soldiers have to report and ask for permission from a superior to do an interrogation. So did you talk to them?"

Silence. The man got close to them. Nath was laying on the floor in pain but still awake. It was hard to focus on what was happening. He got past them and got to her. He sat on one knee and looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. 

"If you have evidence against her, go and talk with your superior. The interrogation is suspended until you get their orders." his eyes were focused on them. His voice was clear and full of authority. "Get her back to her cell until then."

And they obeyed him and dragged her to her cell. Every inch of her body hurt and even breathing seemed like a big effort. She was tired, in pain, dizzy, and… Sleepy.

"Wake up!" he ordered her.

Nath didn't know how many hours she was asleep. At first, she didn't know where she was and why her head felt so heavy. It took a few seconds to look around and to focus on the man in front of her. He realized that she was awake so he tried to get her up on her feet. She was weak, snaking on her feet and her hands were still tied. 

"Come! I will be the one who will interrogate you." 

She knew what that meant and she almost fainted back on the ground but the man held her tight and forced her to move. She walked slowly and every step came with a lot of pain. But he was behind her, pushing her to walk and keeping her on her feet. But he didn't lead her to the same room making her confused. She started to panic realizing that she didn't know where she was going and who he was. What he plans to do with her? 

He pulled her close as some guard passed them in an attempt to prevent her from doing anything stupid. 

"Don't be scared." he whispered close to her ear. His voice sounded weird, it was warm and kind.

They got out of the prisoner area and they were out. They passed the guards from outside as well and he led her close to the exit. 

"Hear me out! Get all the strength that you still have, kick me or do something like this and run."

Her brain couldn't process it. Was this another sick game? He was playing with her? Or he wanted to help her? But if he did, why? This didn’t make any sense to her. But if she was caught they will kill her at that moment, but at the same time, she will die if she stays anyway. So she listened to him, she didn’t have anything to lose after all. 

At first, she stepped on his foot and hit him with her elbow in the stomach with all her strength. Then she started to run as quickly as possible. She was very close to the exit but the guards started to move and she felt her hopes getting crushed.

That man who started all of her troubles appeared in front of her, magic energy playing around him. It had the same color as his eyes. He hugged her and she felt the energy shielding her and the light becoming stronger and stronger. She shut her eyes and opened them when the light started to dull. 

They were in a bedroom. One who belonged to someone rich. Everything was a combination of red satin, black velvet, and gold ornaments. And all of them were expansive. The first thing she noticed how big was the bed, three people could sleep in it. She looked around confused admiring the design of the room. But snapped out from that moment as someone’s hands rested on her shoulders and turned her around to look at him. His eyes were hypnotic, they looked even more bright than the last time. And there was worry and sadness in them. And that's scared her. She took a step back.

"Don't be scared." he took the dark material that covered his face and pulled away so she could see him better. "You are safe now."

"Safe? Where am I? Who are you? What are you?" she spoke the questions so fast that it took him a few seconds to understand what she just said.

"Let's start slowly." his voice was calming. Her body relaxed like she knew this voice for years and knew that it could be trusted. And she couldn't understand why. "You are hurt, let's take care of your wounds first."

He placed her on the bed. At first, she felt uncomfortable showing him her body. She wasn’t a married woman so no man did ever saw her naked. And she knew that by doing this she was breaking a big rule in her society, but she was in pain, tired, traumatized and these thoughts left her mind faster than they came. 

He gasped when she took off her dress. He saw wounds, bruises, maybe a broken leg, a broken arm that a man got working or a child playing, but he never saw something like this, especially on a woman’s body. His fingers traced lines around the wounds. He tried his best to clean them, the man who owns the house left in the room water, alcohol, and two white clothes, but most of them were internal so he ended up giving up on this strategy. He placed his hand flat on her back. She felt a burning sensation, painful and she started to scream as it grew stronger. Her body couldn't endure anymore and she fell unconscious on the bed. 

When she woke up she was under the covers at one side of the bed and he was at the other side sleeping. She blinked a few times. Now, she was alone and naked with a man in a bed and for a second she got amused but how scandalous this was, and then she felt somehow uncomfortable after that. If her aunt will ever find about this… She shivered. 

Nath moved her arms slowly but she couldn't feel the pain anymore. She got up trying to be as silent as possible. There was a mirror in the room, a big one with a golden frame and beside it was a hanger that had the same color. They were beautifully made, the hanger looked like a tree with golden leaves, his branches being the ones that hold the clothes. The frame of the mirror also had golden leaves as details. She got in front of the mirror analyzing her body. 

There were no more wounds, her skin wasn't blue and black and she couldn't feel any pain as she tried to raise her arms, moved them around, and stretched her body. She felt good. Still a little bit tired, her head still felt kind of heavy and the dizziness was not completely gone, but that's it. Nothing more. It felt like what happened before didn't, like it was a horrible dream. But something did remain. A scar in the place where they burned her. She touched with her fingers feeling the skin. 

That scar symbolized more than the fact she had been a pain, that she had been tortured but she lived and she escaped, it also means that she was a fugitive and that troughs forced her to get back to reality. It didn’t matter that a man saw her naked or how her reputation will suffer, she was doomed. She was a fugitive and the irony was that she didn’t have were to run, at the moment she will step out from this place she will be caught again. 

She quickly grabbed a cape that was on the hanger and wrapped it around her body. As she tried to wake him up to answer all questions that she asked before, the door opened.

”I will never understand how a Traveler who is supposed to avoid problems can create so many!” the man walked in the room speaking casually. He shut the door behind him and fixed both of them with his eyes, they were black and it felt like the darkness will eat her if she will look too much. ”Oh, the idiot is sleeping.” he checked on her with an intense stare and then he looked at the man who was sleeping. ”He healed you! Then it's no big surprise that he is sleeping like a baby. And looks like you made yourself comfortable as well.” he pointed at her robe. 

Nath took a step back looking at him with fear. He was the one who took her out from that horrible cage but that didn't mean he was someone she could trust and, to be honest, he looked pretty scary as well. From the door she could tell that he wasn't very tall, maybe the same height as hers or a little bit taller, but the aura that he had made him look double the height. His hair was dark and slightly curly and not very well taken care of. The beard that looked more like he was too lazy to shave contoured his lips that were full and did have a beautiful shape, but his eyes were the most memorable feature. She was sure that it would haunt her even after she would close hers, they were terrified.

”Easy, calm down. I will not hurt you.” he said approaching the bed slowly. It was weird, she was sure she couldn't hear his footsteps, it was like he was light as a feather floating over the wooden floor. ”From what I understand, this guy got you in a lot of trouble.” his eyes looked at his body. He woke up screaming and putting his hand around his hand. He looked at the other man annoyed and then started to massage his temples. ”You have a lot to explain, dear. To her and me as well. You can sleep later. Let's hear it!”

”I regret now linking myself to your mind.” he murmured looking very tired. “What do you want to know?” he looked at him and then at her, she was looking confused and in shock. ”I will answer to both of you.”

”Of course you will, Traveler.”

”My name is Nicholas.” his voice was calm. ”Yours?”

”Philip.”

”Nathalie.”

”Now that we got over this, what the hell happened? Philip asked, annoyance reading in his voice. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Thank you for your nice comments! I loved reading them and they made me really happy!   
> Thank you a lot for your support!
> 
> See you next Monday!


	4. The meaning of a Traveler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm a Traveler." she blinked confused.
> 
> "And what is that supposed to mean?"

_ The Phoenix was one of the most respected magical creatures in his world. They were more than birds with feathers made from fire and gold, they were protectors for the humans, they kept pace and people safe, they are loved by their ruler and they were more powerful than most of the magicians.  _

_ They have a human form as well. They were not known for their beauty, but they were appreciated for their fidelity, for their kindness, devotion, for their royal and caring heart. They will die for the people they love.  _

_ They are strong, they can burn cities to the ground but they also can protect them until they die. They could see and feel the spell, they could see how they worked and if the magician left a specific signature. They could also tell when people are lying, their lies feeling like little sparks on their skin. They are also very smart and perceptive.  _

_ But their weakness is the same as their strengths. Their love can make them reckless, the separation from his lover can make him feel terrible pain and could kill them or drive them to madness. They suffer a great loss when a lover dies and sometimes they will even kill themself.  _

_ They were creatures that lived and die for love.  _

_ *** _

After a few explanations delivered in short sentences and kind of ambiguous, Phillip and Nath ended up more confused so they gave up and let Nicolas rest. He looked more tired than when Phillip woke him and he didn't make much sense either so Phillip took the girl to eat something and let the young Traveler sleep. 

He sent all of his servants home and the mansion was empty with the exception of them. He guided Nathalie to the kitchen in silence. Phillip didn't know what to say and what to not. She was still in big trouble, they didn't do much except slowing the evolution of her situation. They will find her after all and they will kill her anyway. She didn't have where to run and she will most probably get caught before she leaves the city. His mind was trying to create some sort of plan but he knew that they couldn't help her too much, the guards were searching her, the moment she stepped outside his house she would be doomed. Phillip didn't want this, it wasn't her fault after all but he didn't know exactly what to do either. 

He should be happy, he will finally go back home and meet his lover after so many years but his mind was instead focused on this mess. 

He put cheese, some cold steak, and bread on the table and let her eat while he was pouring some wine in the glasses. He wasn't that hungry but some alcohol will not cause any harm. Nath was eating. At first, she was a bit shy and confused but her body needs were more strong than her thoughts so she stopped thinking and started to eat. Phillip was watching her. 

"Do you have a family? Parents? Married?"

"No… I do have an aunt, but mostly I have myself." this wasn’t a lie, she did have a family relative but she didn’t truly have a family and the woman was mostly nice and polite. She knew that she cared about her, but not in the way a mother will do and she will never do. 

He didn't ask more. She was quite young but she was at the age suitable for marriage. But if she didn't have a family it also meant that she didn't have money, and no family would want a daughter-in-law with no money, no family, and no house. She wasn't a beauty either. Her skin was a little darker, she was way taller than most of the women from this world, she wasn't delicate or feminine, she didn't have any qualities that fitted the strands of beauty from here. But she wasn't bad-looking either. Phillip paid more attention. She did have beautiful eyes, big, brown, and kind. She had full lips and a nose that complemented her features. He was pretty sure that if he was in a mood to analyze her further he would find more nice things to point about her but he wasn't.

"From what I understand, the idiot owes you his life. But, what I didn't understand was why did you do it?" she looked confused and he guessed that she didn’t understand his question. "Why did you help him?"

"I don't know." that was a short answer and Phillip didn’t believe her, not even a little. 

"You don't? Sweetie, you are lying to me, I can feel it."

And he could do that. He was a creature that represents justice, power, passion, and fidelity. He could do more than burn villages and fly. Phillip got closer laying his arms on the table and arching his back so he could see her a little bit better. She was tense, she was hiding something and he could feel it.

"I…I truly don't know. I-I-I want to…" she started to have trouble breathing. Her body started to shake and he could see her choking on her own words and he knew what that meant. 

_ Magic.  _

He frowned upon this realization. But who? And how? The magicians from here were weak, at least most of them. Even the ones who were powerful still couldn’t do this. He could sense the magic, or he should say he could see it rather than sense it. It was around her neck struggling her.

"Easy…" he told her coming beside her.

She focused on his face and his words and tried to control her breath. Phillip offered her a glass of wine after she calmed down a little and she drank all at once. It was annoying, why couldn't she speak? Why? It was so infuriating and frustrating for her, why she couldn’t do it? They were just words like the rest of them, why?

He guided her out of the kitchen and let her lie down on the couch. Her legs were still shaking so Phillip had to help her walk. Now he was even more confused. Now, for real, what the hell was happening? He wanted to wake that damn boy again and something hit him for the second time. 

He was a powerful magician, why did a healing spell draw him from energy so badly? Healing was something hard for the non-healers, but still… He was connected to the magic source. He didn't use that much magic and he did rest for a few hours before he got home. Phillip started to question this entire situation.  _ Something was weird with both of them. _

"You are scared, no? A few days everything was normal and now you are a fugitive hunted for something that you didn't do." his words sounded more like whispers for himself.

***

Nicolas is someone who loves to sleep. But now it felt that sleeping was making him feel worse. His body was weak, his vision blurred, he was cold, tired, his head felt so heavy and the air seemed unbreathable. The first time he tried to get up he failed back on the bed. The room seemed to move with him. He never felt like that. 

And if it was only this... His entire body screamed for something. He needed something, something that his body craved and he couldn't tell what. The second time he tried to get up he failed besides the bed letting out a short and painful scream. 

Phillip heard him and felt his pain for a second. Sometimes, he would rather choose to be a small human without anything special than to be some strong magical creature. It didn't have any good points, at least in the past thousands of years. Nath didn't seem to hear him. Her human ears didn't pick up his scream, after all the room where they sat and the bedroom was pretty far but weirdly, her body reacted. Her head turned to the left where the stairs are.

"I think something is happening with him."

"You think?"

"I…"

The magic around her neck started to put pressure. Phillip tried to calm her down and he assured her that he would check on the boy. He knew something was happening to him, but she… She felt it. And the magic stopped her from talking. The Phoenix man wasn't stupid. Something was happening between these two, something that they probably didn't even know about. 

He got into the bedroom and for a second was surprised to not see the Traveler in the bed, but then he heard him moaning because of the pain. Phillip was shocked at first and then he ran to help him to get back to bed. He was hot, his body was burning but Nicolas was shaking like he was freezing. Damn it!

"Lay here! For God's sake, I didn't sign for this!"

He covered the boy with the blankets and tucked him in. 

"Don't you dare to die! I didn't see my love for so many years, if you die and live me in this mess with that girl, I would kill myself and come for you!" he didn’t truly mean these words, but no one said that a Pheonix was good with words. 

Nicolas was so dizzy that the man's words only brushed his ears. 

***

Nathalie couldn't stay alone anymore and she raised from the couch. The moment she wanted to step on the stairs she felt strong dizziness coming. 

_ A traveler has so many homes and no home at all at the same time. He has so many friends and lovers and he has no one at all at the same time. He was doomed from the moment he was born. Magic brought him to life and magic will take him back. _

_ You have no power but you also have so much power. You are alone but always connect to someone. You are doomed from the moment he was born. Without you he is nothing and with you he is everything. _

_ He will kill you and you will kill him. You are born together and you will die together. He is your savior and you are his power. Magic gives you strength and magic will take it back. _

_ My love, you are born to die.  _

The words run through her head with so much power that she fell on her knees holding her head with both hands in a failed attempt to stop the voices. But she couldn't. And they talked and talked and after they finished they repeated again and again until she fell with all of her body on the floor in pain. She didn't know them, she couldn't see a face or a figure. Everything was dark and the voice consumed her, it was a woman's voice echoing in her head. She wanted to scream but the sound didn't leave her throat. 

***

Phillip didn't sign to take her for a boy and he also didn't sign to take care of a human girl. But it looked like he didn't have any choice. 

It was a long night. Phillip fell asleep on the armchair while looking at them. Nicolas’s fever dropped and now he was sleeping peacefully. He did sweat during the night and Phillip had to help him change which was a challenge because besides the fact he was pretty much delirious and weak, he was also pretty heavy and tall and the fact that Phillip didn't have super straight as part of his list with magical powers didn't help a lot. Nathalie on the other hand scared Phillip. She kept talking in her sleep, telling someone or something to stop. She looked like she had a horrible nightmare. He was curious what the hell was going on in her head but at the same time, he didn't want to know. 

And at some time during that long night, he had fallen asleep. It was a short one, at least this is how it felt and it wasn't enough but Phillip heard people downstairs and he was sure that his servants came so he had to go to them. He had to give them some orders so these two idiots who were going to be the death of him will be safe and no one will know about them. 

He changed his shirt and got downstairs to talk to his cook, his two maids, and the butler. He didn't have many employers, he liked his privacy and didn't want to be disturbed or followed by some humans. Phillip told the man who was in the kitchen and was waiting patiently for him to tell what he wanted to eat, that he wanted biscuits, steak, and soup (he thought that maybe Nicolas will be too weak to eat solid food) and to make some tea. 

Then he asked the maids to prepare some new sheets for the bed but instructed them to not get upstairs. He lied telling them that a friend came late at night after a long trip and he wasn't feeling well so he better not be disturbed. He told the butler not to let anyone in the house because he didn't feel well and to leave with the rest of the personal sometimes afternoon and if someone asked about him to tell him that he was sick and didn't get any sleep. Phillip hoped that the King was far too busy to look for him and he didn't remember to have any trial either. 

While he was giving orders the tea was done and he drank a little bit and told everyone that he is going to sleep in the guest room. The last thing he said was that if the King will not come for him personally there is no reason to wake him up. No one asked anything and they quietly followed his orders. 

Phillip used some melted wax to stick a piece of paper on the inside of the door of his bedroom room with the message "don't get out until I come for you" and then got into the guest room bed and fell asleep like a baby. 

Nicolas woke first. He was still weak but he felt way better than last night. He looked around the room blinking a few times trying to clear his vision. His head was heavy and he still felt a little bit of dizziness. His eyes found the girl sleeping beside him, her eyebrows were curved in a frown expression. He moved his left hand that was closer to her and touched her forehead in an attempt to erase that expression from her face. Her body relaxed under his touch and her expression softened. Who knows what she was dreaming about, she has been through a lot in the past few days. 

Nicolas studied her face. She looked older when he saved her, tired and panicked and he didn't pay attention to her after he healed her, but now, while she was sleeping she looked way younger than he thought. His hand started to smooth her hair gently stroking it. She was beautiful and he found himself smiling. She seemed like a sweet girl.

He stretched trying to wake his body up properly. Remembering how he couldn't stand yesterday he tried slowly to get up. At first, he still stood on the bed looking at the floor and his legs and then he tried to get all of his body up. The first steps were a little hard to make still feeling a little bit dizzy but then he started to walk normally. Well, he was pretty slow but except that, it was normal. Nicolas looked around the room, it looked expensive. The Phoenix man had a name here probably. He was working at the castle for the King, had an expensive room and probably a big house and a lot of money. 

As he was moving around the room he saw the letter from Phillip. Nicolas was hungry but he didn't know the place and after what happened he was open to listening to the man. He could hear the girl moving so he turned to bed to see her awake trying to get up from the bed.

"Don't do it. We can not leave this room so…" he came and sat beside her. "We can rest a little longer."

She looked at him studying his face with a curiosity that made him a little uncomfortable. Now that he remembered, the second time they met, that time in the street she also reacted kind of weirdly looking at him almost lost in her thoughts but focused on his face. 

"I know that I'm good-looking but…" she shredded and looked at him confused for a few seconds blinking rapidly.

"No, that's no…" she was shaking her head and then moved her eyes on the door. "Do we have to wait a long time here?"

Now she was avoiding him. 

"I don't know. I don't even know what day it is or what hour. But I don't think we have a choice."

"What are you?" she asked turning her face in a fast move to him again, this time with a serious look on her face. 

_ "Well, she is truly direct at least."  _ he thought.

At first, he didn't want to talk, but after all, they are going to stay sometime together and she also deserved an explanation. She would not remember him anyway. 

"I'm a Traveler." she blinked confused.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"A magician who can travel through different worlds." now she looked even more confused and slightly suspicious. "And yes, there are more worlds, some with magic, some with none, some with humans and magic creatures, some with mermaids, some with plants that could talk, even with dragons and magic stones." she blinked again and her head moved a little bit closer to him like she tried to see if he was playing with her. "I am the one who keeps a balance between the worlds. For this reason, I came here to take Phillip, a man who doesn't belong here and destroys the equilibrium from this world." she still looked confused and at the same time, he felt her judging his sanity. "You don't believe me, no? 

"Not even a bit."

"I just save you! I used magic to get you from the prison to here and healed you. And you think I’m crazy?" she nodded, she just simply nodded with all her honesty. "Fine, I will show you."

Nicolas moved his hand through the air and a little crack appeared. Like the room was a painting and someone spilled ink on in the middle of it. It looked like a dark hole that could have swollen them. Nath gasped and he smiled looking at her face. He was proud to see her reaction and a little arrogant smile appeared on his face. His fingers moved slowly and now they could see strings that were moving. 

"You know, every world has her strings with its colors. This one is made from aqua blue and grey strings. The strings are connected with knots. But look here!" and he moved his fingers a little more and the image zoomed and now she could see a red string that was twirling around some greys and blues almost creating a knot. "This is Phillip. He stayed for so many years here that the world started to absorb him, the world tried to fit him in her rules. If the knot will be done, it can not be undone. And if that happens, the world would change her characteristics and then the other worlds will try to fit theirs, so the equilibrium will be restored.  _ But that will create a big mess. _ " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I edited this chapter so many times and a little part with me is still not satisfied with the final product.   
> I also saw that my last chapter created a little bit of a misunderstanding. Nathalie is not married and she never was, the man that died because of the King was her aunt's husband. Soon you will hear more about her past, but you have to wait a little more. 
> 
> I'm also going to give you a little spoiler for the next chapter.
> 
> "Oh, no. Don't tell me!" Nicolas hugged his head with his hands trying to chase away a headache. "You think we should take her with us and leave her in some other world."
> 
> "Yes, dear. You are clearly not as dumb as I thought." Phillip replayed while taking a sip from his tea. 
> 
> I'm waiting for your opinions and maybe... some theories?


	5. A promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You are fine with me marking you?" and she nodded again, it wasn’t like she could truly choose. 

Philip woke up with a plan and a bad headache. He told everyone to leave and got back upstairs to check on the children. Well, for him who was around 400 years, they were pretty much babies. He opened the door slowly expecting them to sleep but they were awake. They were probably talking before he got in the room, but now they were focused on him waiting for him to talk. He saw the magic that the Traveler used, the elements of the spell still floated in the air. Someone needed to tell this boy that he can not tell secrets about magic to anyone, and he would be usually annoyed by this, but lucky for the magicians, this fit into his plan. 

"Come downstairs." Phillip spoke shortly and left. 

Nicolas and Nathalie followed him quietly in the kitchen. Nicolas was still weak, his steps were slow and from time to time he needed to stop to get his balance and energy back, and Nathalie was always close to him, paying attention to every move he made and every expression. The Phoenix made looked like was ignoring them, but he wasn’t, something about the physical state of the young man made him curious, he looked so weak and sick, but why? 

Phillip served them tea and some biscuits and invited them to sit down. They were so quiet and looked at him with curiosity in their eyes and also fear to ask that it made him feel like a strict dad who just scolded his children and didn't particularly enjoy it, but it was better than having two noisy humans asking questions without thinking. 

"Are both of you feeling well?" he asked while picking a biscuit asking himself in his head if he should try to eat or not, he wasn’t sure if he even felt hungry, it was almost mechanic to pick it. 

"Yes, but… Ummm... I-I know what happened to me, kind of… I think… But…" Nicolas focused on her. "What happened to her?" 

So they didn’t discuss that. Nathalie’s back straight when she heard the question and she started to blink confused, she didn’t exactly neither. She remembered the voice, she could still those words in her head running from a corner to the other, playing with her mind, but she didn’t know how it happened, why it happened, if she fainted or fallen asleep, how she got in the bed or… anything. She only knows that… It felt like a lot. 

"This is what I want to know as well." Phillip also fixed his eyes on her. "I left you for, like 5 minutes alone, and I find you lying and the bottom of the stairs unconscious." 

Nath opened her mouth to speak, but what? She didn’t know either, but she tried, she could feel that it would not work, that she couldn’t tell anything, but maybe because of the frustration, maybe because she just wanted to be sure, or maybe because she always hoped that one day she could talk freely. 

"No, don't talk." 

He stopped her before she even started. The spell started to move around her neck, ready to force her to shut up before she could even say something and it wasn’t a lovely picture to see her looking like she was straggled and she couldn’t breathe. And he was sure that she didn’t enjoy that much either. 

"Traveler, I have to talk to you later about a little problem."

Phillip wasn’t exactly sure how he will talk about this or when, but this was not the time for this, they have another problem to solve first. 

"But now, I want to clarify something. She… " and he pointed at her with his finger. "Will die if we left her here. The King will found her and he is going to torture her until she will speak. She is not safe. And no… " and he moved his finger towards Nicolas. "You can not use magic to get her out. It is too big of the distance and it also plays too much with the rules of this world. You already broke enough for your short stay. And even if we somehow manage to get her out, what is she going to do? The trip to the next kingdom is far from here and she has to go through the forest. If the guards don't kill here, an animal from the forest, a thief, or the hunger will."

"Oh, no. Don't tell me!" 

Nicolas hugged his head with his hands trying to chase away a headache. He was almost sure that he didn’t have it until now until the magical creature opened his mouth. 

"You think we should take her with us and leave her in some other world."

"Yes, dear. You are not as dumb as I thought." Phillip replayed while taking a sip from his tea. 

"It… is possible?" she asked with a shaky voice. 

“That he may know how to use his head? It seems it is.”

“Can you take me with you?” looked like Nathalie decided to ignore Phillip’s answer and that made the Phoenix man smile amused.

"It is. I think, maybe... I’m not sure, no one told me anything about this. I don't know how a human will handle the travel, to be honest, it may hurt you. Or even kill you. "

"I may get hurt no matter what." 

Her eyes were on him. She made her mind and he could tell that. The determination in her eyes made him feel intimidated for a moment. She almost looked different, he couldn’t tell, but back then she looked mature, maybe a little sad, a little older, but now she looked… Alive. The power in her gaze made her look so lively. Her cheeks and lips looked full of color and her eyes, big and brown made him lost himself for a second. He swallowed his saliva with difficulty and realized that he didn’t even breathe or moved at all.

Phillip was watching him with amusement.

"I want to go. I don't want to just stay and wait to get killed and I don't have anyone or anything here, and I don't have anything to lose. I rather die trying to escape than be killed by…" she closed her eyes remembering her moments with the guards. "Those beasts."

"Then that's it." Nicolas wanted to talk a little more but Phillip stopped him by shoving a biscuit in his mouth. "Don't try to argue. You don't have a choice. This girl is in trouble because of your reckless actions. You have a debt to her. Honore it!"

Nicolas looked at him slightly annoyed by his attitude. He didn't like to receive orders in such an authoritative tone. But what he disliked the most was the fact that the Phoenix man was right, he created this mess and he has to handle it. She is a human, if humans existed in the world there would be no trouble accepting her, but at the same time, he knew that not every world was safe for her, especially the one where they are going to travel next. 

But he couldn’t say no. Not just because it was true, he created this mess and he has to solve it, but because something in his heart didn’t let him do it, she looked so determined and so strong, he just couldn’t refuse her.

"And can we leave tonight? Do you feel strong enough?" 

"Sure. Sooner the better." 

That was a lie, to be honest, he still felt tired and weak but the words just came out of his mouth. The Traveler looked at the girl that was going to be his companion for a few days. He could sure that he saw her eyes sparkling with hope and he felt his stomach tightening. 

"It's fine with you?" she nodded, her gaze never leaving him. "Then we will leave at midnight. There will be light, it will be probably close to the middle of the day." 

Phillip smiled, pleased with the results, and served them some more food. He didn't know how Nathalie was going to be while traveling, he wasn't sure if she would even survive but there was not much to do, and leaving her here was even worse. And also enjoyable to see the Traveler out of words. 

Nathalie was confused, scared but she was also hopeful. She didn't have a place here where she belonged and she doubts that she is going to find one in some other world but at least she will be alive and maybe happier, maybe she will find something to live for or someone to love and be loved. Maybe, just maybe, she will enjoy being alive. It wasn’t as she didn’t like benign alive, but she never felt any kind of satisfaction in her life, she felt trapped, alone, and… Not complete. Her hand found her chest and she could feel her heart beating so fast. 

And… Her eyes were fixed on the man with bright eyes. And maybe she is going to find what connects him to her, why she had been dreaming about him. She wanted to believe that maybe the nightmares were meant to lead to this moment, that he will be a savior for her but it was too hard to believe while recalling how violent they were and how they made her feel. Maybe she wanted to leave because she wanted to find out about him. At this point, she didn't know why but she did know that she wanted to so… did it even matter anymore?

Phillip looked at her with curiosity studying the spell. He should tell Nicolas about this or not? 

It looked so weird, it didn’t look like any spell from this world and it didn’t look like someone from here could do it… But then what it was? A spell outside this world? How? It wasn’t possible, the other Traveler died years ago and no one could travel between worlds except him, any magicians and for sure not a human. He frowned. How come that from any human girl from this world, she was the one who saved the Traveler? He tilted his head slightly. A weak Traveler and a human girl with an outstanding spell… This was for sure not a coincidence. 

Nicolas on the other hand was more preoccupied with how he should explain the world they are going to go. He told her a little bit about how you can travel but just like he said earlier, didn't know how it would affect a human. They were not supposed to travel to another world like going on vacation. And also, the next world was far from enjoyable for a human. 

***

The last few hours were pretty much silent. Phillip locked himself in the office to prepare for his disappearance from this world. He completed checks for his servants, prepared the paper for selling the mansion, and instructions for the money they are going to earn from that. He wanted or the money to be donated and he paid his servants the salary for almost 10 years. 

Nathalie was alone in the living room trying to understand her situation. Phillip gave her a poetry book to read so time will pass faster but she couldn’t focus at all. She was curious if her aunt was looking for her or if she heard about what happened. Did she miss her? Did her cousin miss her? They felt sorry for her, does her aunt believe that the King killed her?

She felt weird. She should feel something, no? She should be sad for leaving this place, no? She should miss her relatives, no? She should feel something like this, but she didn’t, she felt cold when thinking about all of this. Did she was such a loveless person? 

The book closed and she saw her hands shaking. 

Nicolas slept. He was at first worried, thoughts running through his head, and didn't know if he could close his eyes but somehow he fell asleep. Phillip will have to wake him up an hour before midnight so he could have time to explain to Nathalie where they were going. 

***

"How is that world?" Her voice was soft and the question was almost a whisper that Phillip almost didn't realize that she spoke. 

He raised his head from the paperwork. He already started to lose his strong hearing, he could feel getting weaker and he hated it. Looking at the human girl he started to wonder how this will work out and if this will not end up being a bad idea. His bad idea. 

"To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know. But a lot of these worlds are not friendly for humans... "

"You… You talk about humans like… You are not one. What are you?" 

Phillip knew she wasn't dumb but he was still surprised by the fact that she asked so directly. He didn't know if he liked it or it was slightly annoying. But he had time to find out. 

"I'm not human. I'm… A magic creature." 

Now that didn't help a lot and didn't satisfy her curiosity. She raised one eyebrow asking with her expression for more information.

"I could show you but this place doesn't allow me to show my real form, or power because it doesn't fit the world's rules. At least no anymore. In the beginning, for a few months, I could use them, I could even transform for a short period, but slowly, as the years passed, I started to lose little by little my powers."

He could still remember the shock that he had when one day he realized he could not transform anymore. And then he saw after a few years that he could start fire anymore. And as the years passed he started to lose little by little his powers every day, and now, today, he realized that his hearing was not as good as before. If he would stay here a few years more he will lose everything completely, but his blood will remain one of a Pheonix and he could still love hundreds and hundreds of years messing up the rules. 

"I'm a… Magic bird made from fire! he told her with a little bit of sarcasm in his voice. Well, it was true after all, but it was not what she expected. "It is complicated. You only know about weak magicians that use spells to start a small fire or to make someone stumbled on the street. I don't know how to explain this to you." 

Nathalie didn’t like answers, it made her feel stupid. He could try, but he clearly didn’t want to talk too much so she left him. Looking around the house she realized that this man must be rich and he also must have a lot of power, he stopped the guards and they listen to him, almost afraid of them. And she couldn’t blame them.

She started to feel like a secondary character in a bad novel. A few days ago she was only worried about dying alone and not having a purpose in her life, now she was speaking to some weird magical bird, someone who talks about different worlds, and she was hunted by the King's guards. But at the same time, she was clueless and only received half explanations. 

Weirdly she didn't feel like she mattered for any of these two. Nicolas only felt guilty and Phillip… She didn't understand him. He could be kind and caring but he also looked scary and somehow like a villain. Maybe he was a sick man just like the ones who tortured her. Why did he help her after all, and why did he care if she would die? What was the connection between and Nicolas? What was she doing in the middle of this madness?!

She sat on the couch. What is going to happen to her? She didn't want to die but she also didn't know why she lived. She has been just alive for so many years, just around people. People didn't care too much about her and to be honest, she didn't care too much about herself either. But she didn't want to give up on her life, even without a purpose, she still had time to find something to live for. She was young… But now her life stood in those men’s hands and she truly disliked the feeling of depending on them. 

***

Phillip woke Nicolas up just like they planned. He picked Nathalie before going upstairs and was surprised to see her looking so lost and sad. Something was happening in her head and he could tell by her eyes that her mind was in another place. 

Nicolas woke up and at first, he met the serious eyes of the Phoenix man that gave him chills. But then he saw her eyes and he had a weird feeling. He felt bad about this. It was his fault and she had to suffer because of him. He felt guilt, he felt sad but mostly he felt disappointed with himself. 

After a short conversation about how his health and if he was ready and strong enough for taking both of them to another world he focused on Nath. It was time to introduce her to that world. He traveled once when he was younger, he didn’t mean to, it just happened, his power acted weirdly and after one second he was not home anymore, but there. It took him a panic attack, almost getting beaten by a creature and getting lost in the forest to gather his power and to bring himself back. At the time he didn’t know about the mermaid who lived there and that destiny will bring him back. 

"Humans are slaves there." 

She blinked a few times confused and he saw her expression changing from sadness to horror. This was a great start! He scared her. He should feel bad for this but he found it for a second amusing the way her face changed and then surprised by how much her expression changed the way she looked. 

"And some creatures are also eating them. So you have to stay close to me, you have to stick to me like glue and never leave my side. Magicians own humans as slaves and they respect each other's properties."

"Properties? 

"I will mark you as mine so they will know that you are taken and have a master so they will not harm you."

"Wait, wait… You will mark me? Why does it sound like I’m a cow who has to be marked by its owner so everyone will know that it belongs to him?" she did felt a little bit offended, but she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t control it."

"Because it is. This how humans are viewed there, just like we view animals here."

"But, I can't guarantee their integrity and for sure I can't for the creatures, so where you go, I go. After we reach the place where the mermaid is, the woman who we have to find, we can relax. At least I hope so. We will stay one night there and leave for the next world the next night." 

She was listening to him, her brain barely keeping with those pieces of information. Slaves, cannibalism, and a mermaid. 

"Also, the world will try to fit us to her rules so we may change our clothes, hair color, or other details, depending on the rules." 

At that moment his eyes measured her from head to toe and realized that she was still wearing Phillip's robe. For a few seconds, he forgot what he needed to say, the serious look on her face and the robe that was looking very nice on her confused him. 

"And?" he shook his head looking at her almost lost. "That’s all?"

"I think this is all you need to know for now." 

He got up from the bed and came close to her, so close that their bodies almost touched. She wanted to take a step back, and she almost did it, but his arm caught her waist and stopped her. He needs to be close so he could mark her, but she didn’t know that, and the way their bodies were so close one to the another made her feel strange. 

"Marking means in different worlds different things. There, will mean that you are mine, my property. In some other worlds will mean that we are lovers or that you are my pupil. No matter what it means, it will keep other magicians away. Understand? 

She nodded. Her eyes were looking at him confused and a little uncomfortable. They were pretty close, probably this type of distance was destined to a lover and not to him, but was not familiar with those rules in her world and in this moment he didn’t care, he felt weirdly pulled towards her and he couldn’t understand. 

"You are fine with me marking you?" and she nodded again, it wasn’t like she could truly choose. 

He got closer and closer, and his lips touched her neck on the right side in a soft and gentle kiss. Nath was never kissed. Until you are married the only way a man could touch you was by holding hands. She was sure that unmarried couples were doing much more hiding from people's eyes but no one courted her so she didn't have any experience. It felt so intimate and she felt a shiver down her spine, a weird one that made her entire body react in a way she couldn't understand. His lips were smooth and hot and she felt the place where they touched her neck starting to burn and the feeling started to extend to the rest of the neck and slowly to her entire body. He moved slowly from her and she was surprised to find herself being disappointed by that. 

"Now you are mine and I promise that I will protect and take care of you until we find you a right place to stay."

Phillip watched the entire scene amused. Nicolas was clueless or an idiot, he wasn’t sure about it. It was fun to see Nathalie’s reaction to such an intimate touch and also the confusion of Nicolas when he realized that the girl was blushing and lowered her head.

"Phillip, I know you have a strong connection with the mermaid woman. I can feel her energy, but in a world, with so many powerful magicians, it will be a hot and cold game. Can you find her quickly?"

"Of course. She is my mate after all." 

Nath looked clueless at them, still a little red. Phillip thought that it was looking good on her, she looked more closely to her young age with her cheeks blushing and with a curious and slightly shy expression than with that serious and sad face.

"My kind is very dedicated. We only mate once in our life and we created a strong bond with our partners, both emotional and physical. Separating a Phoenix from his mate will lead to physical pain and emotional instability. After all these years… I don't know how it feels not to feel pain." 

Philip was melancholic and Nathalie could feel the pain in his voice, his expression changed and for a little, he looked like a young man in love and that made her smile. Nicolas also enjoyed that look on his face, it was heart-warming in a way.

"Well, soon you will meet her again." Nicolas smiled with sympathy. 

"How is she?" Nath asked in the same soft voice that he heard in the office, but now it was louder, not a whisper.

"She is a mermaid. A creature of the sea. Her kind is not very nice, they use their power to control people and even weak magicians through their enchanted songs. They made them do terrible things. She also used to do this. But… She tried to make the ex-Traveler kill himself."

Both of them looked shocked, he spoke so casually about it. Nathalie blinked a few times trying to understand him and Nicolas tried to look not as surprised, after all, he should be a strong magician and should act like it but he was also a young man still confused about his gift and his role, so he didn’t succeed in hiding his feelings. 

"Of course, he wasn't enchanted but he played along. He was younger than you two, around 15 years old. He was a friend of mine or more should I say, I was responsible for him on that day. When I saw what was happening I tried to stop. I don't know why I didn't think that he was powerful, how she could control him? I just reacted. Before I arrived she stopped. She couldn't kill him, he was a child in her eyes and she never hurt one. She was also a young mermaid and she lacked experience and cold blood. I was impressed by her. Mermaids are not known for their morals. She was also stunning!"

"Why I had in my head some kind of a romantic meeting?" Nathalie whispered to Nicolas.

"How can you fall in love with… Someone who has the hobby to make people kill themselves?"

"I can hear you!" Phillip spoke annoyed by their attitude. After that day, I come again to the sea hoping I will see her again. I waited a few hours but she didn't appear. I came another few days but nothing so I stopped coming and to my surprise, I found her after a few days in the forest looking for me. We were two idiots looking for each other at the same time but in different places." 

"But how did you end up separated?" Nath asked stopping him from his love story.

"Because of him, because of that Traveler, we ended up in different worlds. But that is such a long story and I'm pretty sure that Nicolas already knows it. Maybe one day he would tell you because I don't feel like I have the energy to relive that again through storytelling." 

"I would not make you say it today, but I don’t have any idea! Nicolas looked as honest as he could. "The magic gives me minimum information… You can say I’m clueless about it… Almost everything." he looked at Nath and smiled. "We should prepare ourselves."

He led them to the middle of the room where there was no furniture and they had enough space. Nicolas closed his eyes and with his thumb, he drew a horizontal line in the air. Small particles started to shine and they came close together creating a shining ribbon. He took Nathalie's hand and Phillip grabbed his wrist already knowing the process. With the free hand, he drew circles in the air on his fingers and the ribbon started to move and twirl around their hands. The ribbon tied their hands together. Navy blue and golden strings started to rise from the cracks in the wooden floor. Nath remembered when he told her that every world has its own colors and now she was seeing the colors from the world they will travel to. 

She knew that they were not going to ride magic horses or fly or anything like this, but she didn't expect that the traveling would consist of this. The strings started to catch their ankles and quickly they were covered in them. She started to panic as the strings started to hug her neck and little by little her mouth and nose as well. She couldn't see much of Phillip but she could see Nicolas and his eyes were closed, and he looked calm while the strings imprisoned him and as the strings covered her eyes she couldn't see anything. 

For a short period, she couldn't breathe or move. Her body burned and she felt so much pressure, it felt like there were walls that came from any direction and crushed her body. The only thing that felt right was Nicolas’s hand holding her with a strong grip. She felt for a few seconds that the walls disappear but now something was pushing her up making her rise and she almost felt like she was floating. It was a nice feeling but didn't last long because after that a force pushed her back and she fell violently to the ground. 

"Nath are you fine? Do you hear me? Nathalie!"

She opened her eyes and saw Nicolas’s face. He was worried, his hands were on her shoulders and his eyes were studying her to see if she was hurt. She felt tired and her body aches but she could handle it. She nodded and he relaxed. He helped her to get up on her feet. 

When she looked around she saw that she wasn't in Phillip's room anymore, but in a forest, a weird one. The trees were tall and their leaves were different shades of blue and their trunks were gold. She looked at the sky and it was so bright that she couldn't last to watch more than a second. The grass was also blue and she could swear that the ground was also a shade of gold shining where the sunlight can reach. 

A little breeze moved the leaves and Nath felt weird. She could feel the air on her skin and she looked down at her body and almost screamed. She was wearing a short cotton dress, it was loose with thin straps and white, and so short that she felt that one wrong move and her bottom would be exposed to the world. She blushed and hugged herself feeling embarrassed. It didn't help that she realized that Nicolas was wearing a sheer white blouse that had a deep V line exposing his chest. He has a pair of dark blue pants that were folded at the ends letting his ankles show. He also has a light blue silk scarf around his waist, a pair of weird-looking shoes made from gold straps, and an earring that looked like a small knife hanging by his left ear. His eyes were even brighter and vivid in color. 

She was mesmerized by them.

"I didn't expect that." Phillip gestures towards her outfit coming closer to them. He was wearing a similar outfit to Nicolas but the blouse was sleeveless and he had two small sapphire earrings. 

"Trust me, it could be worse." Nicolas replayed. "At least something is covering her and she is not cuffed." he stopped for a little and looked at her. "But to be honest I don't know if the last thing is really a good thing."

Before Nath could say something he caught her hands and a light started to cover her wrists. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the shine. When she felt that the light disappear she felt her wrists tied together and turned back to see that a small and delicate chain was around them and the other end was around one of his. 

"Now I'm not going to lose you."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	6. The Phoenix man and his love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you drug them?" Phillip asked, closing the door of their room.
> 
> "No." Phillip looked at her suspiciously. "Maybe a little." she said with a playful smile and kissed him on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter includes a sex scene towards the end and a little bit of violence in the beginning,

_ A mermaid is nothing but an evil creature, at least this the way most humans view her.  _

_ Mermaids were one of the most hated creatures. They were cold-blooded. Mean, enjoying the pain of others that they created using their enchanted songs to manipulate humans and weak magicians. They are far away from kindness and mercy.  _

_ The females couldn’t procreate. So the mermen will use the songs to attract young girls and then step on the land and impregnate them. The girls would not remember anything and one day they will wake up pregnant. The children will be attracted by the water at the beginning of their adolescence and before they will become adults they will get in their magical lake and get their tails.  _

_ The mermaids will spend their days playing and driving people to death, and how much they enjoyed it. They rarely get out of the water, not like the mermen who enjoyed staying on the land using their beauty to seduce girls because they couldn’t use their enchanted songs on the land, that was the rule that an old King creates and no one dared to challenge their ruler. You will find why very soon, dear reader.  _

_ What can I say more about them? Just like a Pheonix had a human form, they also had it and their beauty was beyond words.  _

_ They were mean, beautiful, and dangerous creatures, what combination could be more lovely? _

They were following Phillip. It didn’t take too much time for Nathalie to start to regret her decision. This place was everything that a human can fear and every step was harder and harder to make, She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t, the screams will make her open them and scan the place with her heart beating so fast, her hands and feet shaking, and the thoughts that she was in danger in every second eating her mind, anxiety spreading through her body,

The forest was close to the market and they didn't have to walk a lot until they started to meet people. The blue and gold forest was quiet, they could hear every step of them on the ground, there were no birds or animals, it was empty, no human or animal except them, and now Nath missed it. The market was chaotic, full of cruelty and violence, screams and pain, too much, way too much for anyone. 

Nath saw a girl only in underwear that was dragged around by some scary lady with weird teeth, long and sharp with a yellow tind to them covering the lower lip of hers, a boy with an old and ripped pair of pants that looked like he didn't saw any food in days, weak and thin, shaking on his feet, a woman that was screaming and was dragged by some creature with green skin and yellow eyes without a pupil, and after she almost saw how a creature that was grey, had a big nose and no eyes, with sharp teeth but small and big hands with claws broken a man hand and his scream almost made her fall on her knees in horror, she was weirdly happy that Nicolas tied their hands together. 

Nicolas was walking close to her, she was just a little bit in the back because if she stayed beside him it would attract unwanted attention. He told her that she is not allowed to speak and not to look people in the eyes and keep her head down, but all the noise made her shudder and shake in fear that it was almost impossible for her not to look for the danger. She could be one of them, she could be… Tears started to gather in her eyes and she struggled so hard not to just stop and start crying and screaming, cursing her entire existence. 

She remembered reading so many stories with strong heroines, with a sharp mind and brave, and she thought she was like them, a smart outcast who has been through so much that she couldn’t feel more pain or fear but at the moment this man came into her life she realized that she wasn’t even as half strong and intelligent like she believed, now she realized how weak she was, how her fear was creeping in her heart and how stupid it was to came here.

What made her even more glad that she was tied to Nicolas was when a man that almost looked like a human but had long and white hair that didn't fit with his young face, bumped into her. At first, she stopped because of the impact but then the man grabbed her, having an expression that terrified her. He was looking like a mad person, his eyes were lifeless, her mouth was big and his lips were painted with blood, his skin looking like it had a thin white fur on it and he looked like she was a delicious chocolate dessert. Nicolas pulled her back by the chain and moved his other hand in the air delicately and elegantly which ended up with that man on the ground screaming and asking for help. 

Nathalie looked shocked at him, surprised by the power that was hidden in his little gesture, but… It also the fact that Nicolas’s eyes looked for a second just as cruel as they looked in her nightmares. She froze for a little bit, only the chain that he pulled waking her up and forced her to follow him. Those eyes, it must be in her head, it must be… No? 

They left the market and stopped in front of a bar. At the end of the market were bars, restaurants and after that was the city. Nathalie doubted that they served sunny eggs and bacon there. She was supposed to be a little hungry, but after what she saw she couldn’t put any food in her mouth even if her body cried for it. 

She stayed like a good child behind Nicolas and waited to see what was going to happen. They walked into the bar slowly, the Traveler paying more attention to how well Nathalie was handling everything than at the actual place. Phillip walked straight to a woman who was mixing some weird liquids in a cup. It looked far away from a normal drink.

Her intense blue eyes raised to see who was the client in front of her and for a second she couldn't believe it. Nathalie could see the shock on her face, but she also could see how beautiful and delicate she was, so feminine and fragile, but at the same time strong and smart, it was breathtaking. 

He looked a little different from what she remembered and she wasn't used to him in clothes like this but his eyes and her heart could tell that it was him and it wasn't a dream. It was him, after all these years, it was finally him! Her lips curved in such a lovely and nostalgic smile and her expression softened, She didn't circle the bar to hug him, but instead got on the bar and jumped in his arms screaming his name. Phillip caught her, her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck and her lips close to his ear hearing her breathing. He hugged her tightly and buried his face in the curve of her neck. Everyone was looking at them like they were some kind of crazy people but this was the most normal thing that poor Nathalie had seen in the past few hours. They looked at each other with so much love that made her smile. 

Nicolas, on the other hand, was looking carefully at the people in the bar, he wasn’t a romantic, ironically if you think, the two who took care of him were one of the most lovely couples that he ever met. Maybe it was because he knew it could never happen to him, that he will always be lonely and he could never have this, someone to wait for him, to care for him, to love him in this way. Maybe he was bitter and a little jealous, maybe just a little. 

Phillip broke the hug with such slow moves that almost made the Traveler scream in annoyance. The creatures and magicians were looking strange at him and it made him uncomfortable and Nathalie was scared, it wasn’t time for cuddling. He whispered something in her ear, her eyes moved to fix them with her gaze and she nodded. They both came. 

"My home is upstairs. I own this place. Go upstairs and make yourself comfortable. I will try to come as quickly as possible." 

She replied short and gestured to the left where the stairs were. Her hand searched for something in the pants pocket and took out a key and gave it to Nicolas. He raised an eyebrow slightly suspicious, no greeting, presentations, nothing. His hand took the key with his eyes on her and she smiled weirdly kindly to them. And of course, Phillip didn't come with them. 

When they arrived upstairs, Nicolas took that chain away. He inspected her hands to see if it made any wounds if it cut in her skin or anything, but except being slightly red, it looked fine.

"I know it's not very pleasing but I wanted to avoid losing you." she nodded. "Are you fine? You told me you were a little tired back in the forest, do you want to rest a little?"

"The next world is like this?" she was terrified and he could tell that easy. He was like this for the first time too, it was normal, this place was messed up.

"No, the next world is the place where these two belong. Humans are not living a very happy life there either, but it is not like this. They live in tribes and the danger is in the forest so they avoid it as much as they can." 

He didn't tell her everything, it was more to say but she looked so scared that he didn't want her to panic even more. 

"You are with me. Trust me, you will be fine." 

"I think I want to lay down."

It wasn't the fact that she was tired but rather that she saw so many horrible things that she wasn't sure she could stand up any longer. She sat on the couch, stretching her legs and massaging her hands. She wished she could sleep, but after what happened it was far away from possible. Nicolas sat beside her studying her face. He gave her a kind smile and she tried to smile back. He wasn’t a bad person, it was hard for her to see him like that, he had such a youthful and kind feeling to him. 

After almost two hours the two lovers came as well. The woman didn’t say anything and came directly to them leaving Phillip to lock the door. 

"There are a lot of crazy stories about Travelers but there is none about one that had a human as a companion." Melanie comes closer to the couch to look at Nath with curiosity. "Oh, she's pretty!"

"Ha?" Nath was not used to someone changing her attitude so fast. 

"Ha? What sweetie? You are really pretty!" and she cupped her cheeks admiring her face. "But how did you get here?" she frowned slightly but her expression changed completely looking almost threatening.

"He got her in big trouble and was this or… Death." Phillip came closer to both of them. He wanted to hold his lover, to be close to her after such a long time and he wanted to love her and she could see that passion in his eyes.

Nicolas rolled his eyes and crossed his legs looking at the Phoenix man with an expression of an annoyed child, 

"Sadly, I have just one room where you two can sleep. This place is not that big and in general, I don’t have guests." 

"I will sleep on the couch." Nicolas replied quickly and Nath looked at him confused. 

She didn’t want him to sleep with her, but he spoke so quickly that made her questioning his reaction. 

Melanie gives them food, a more comfortable dress for Nath to hang around the house and to sleep, served them some weird drinks that didn't taste like alcohol but sure had a similar effect because Nathalie was dizzy and lightheaded and Nicolas had to help her to get in bed. She fell asleep quickly and Nicolas also got as comfortable as possible on the couch. He couldn't deny that he also was feeling kind of weird but didn't pay too much attention. It didn't affect him the same.

"Did you drug them?" Phillip asked, closing the door of their room.

"No." Phillip looked at her suspiciously. "Maybe a little." she said with a playful smile and kissed him on the lips.

It was a short kiss, a delicate and gentle one. Her eyes looked at him with love and made his heart beating so fast. How much did he miss her? How many nights did he dream about her? On how many lonely days he missed her touch? He couldn't remember now. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He could feel her breasts on his chest and her hips touching his and slowly his hand started to caress her back, his finger following the line of her spine. 

"Phillip…" her voice was sweet and breathy and made him go crazy. 

His mouth found her and he kissed her with hunger and she responded to him with the same feeling. His hand came down to her hips and he pulled her more closer to his body. She gasped from the kiss feeling him. His lips moved down to her neck and she arched under his touch. Her fingers were into his hair and the other hand was on his back pulling him towards her. She hadn't been touched like this in such a long time that she almost forget how hot his lips were and how much she loved his touch and the way he was playing with her body. But he was so slow, so gentle and it drove her crazy. She wanted him so much and she didn't realize until his hand was under her dress caressing her hip and his teeth were biting the lobe of her ear. 

Melanie started to pull up his shirt, she wanted to feel him, his skin to hers. Phillip helped and then he took off her dress. For a moment he stopped to admire her. 

"Could you be more beautiful than I remember?" 

His words were whispers and she saw him swallowing his saliva with difficulty and the hunger from his eyes. She smiled and kissed him. 

"Let's go to bed." She took his hand and led him. 

They barely made it to the bed because as soon as she turned around his hands grabbed her and started to kiss her neck and they almost tripped and fell. She giggles at his impatiens. 

"It's not funny." He murmured as laid her on the bed. 

She didn't respond, she smiled at him and pulled him closer to her. They kissed again. 

_ Their first meeting was far from romantic but was memorable enough. The mermaid tried to play one of her sick games with a boy, a human boy. The Phoenix man was his companion, the magician who took care of this little powerful and future Traveler asked him if he could watch him to not get into troubles or to create some. And seeing and hearing the mermaid sing her song, he reacted to the impulse to protect the human without thinking that the power he possessed was making him immune and he just enjoyed playing the mermaid with the idea to surprise her and frustrate her. But the mermaid didn’t do it. She was still a young one at the time and killing a child was too much for her.  _

_ When the Pheonix man arrived close to them, the mermaid used the words that will wake up the boy. And our magical bird made from fire and gold was enchanted by the cold and dark beauty of the mermaid. _

_ But he didn’t know that she was also mesmerized by him. She didn’t know why, maybe because he was a little different from the rest of the men that she saw, maybe because he didn’t have the naivete of the human and neither the elegance of a merman… He had something rough, his eyes seemed to have the power to crush her soul and she was weirdly fascinated by that. _

_ So both tried to find each other, he will go close to the lake, she will go to the forest and they kept missing each other.  _

_ Somehow the destiny allowed them to meet in the forest after a few days. He had been haunted by her beauty every night and the only thought of a kiss, and the powerful aura that he had made her curious every day. I will like to tell you that their second meeting was a romantic and touching moment but it would not be true. It was a meeting that ended with pure carnal pleasures. And a lot of their other meetings were like that.  _

_ They met almost every day, and after a while, they started to talk more after their moments of pleasure and she fell for him so quickly that the thought kept her awake during the nights when she was alone. She liked him, she enjoyed his playful and smart words, the simple tone of his voice could calm her or drive her depending on his words. He was everything that she could think about. He was powerful but kind, he was serious but could also joke around, he was lovely and romantic, but he was strong and rough at the same time.  _

_ But he will also remind her how awful she could be and after she will kiss him and see him taking care of humans’ children she remembered how she almost killed one and how many humans she made suffer. And she was sure, that the Pheonix man will never truly love her because in the end he was good and caring and she was a cold-blooded creature.  _

_ The Phoenix man did fall in love with her and while she only thought about the pain she created, he could see her changing, smiling at the children, helping a grandma to carry the water bucket, protecting a girl from being enchanted by a merman. And the way her heart open to the ones around her made him love her more and more.  _

_ So one day, on a nice sunny day after a strong rain, when the grass was still wet and drops from the tree still fallen, the Pheonix man marked the mermaid as his own after a lovely confession.  _

_ They were in love and their feelings didn’t change even for years and years.  _

He gave another few quick kisses to her neck and then his mouth found one of her nipples and she shouts his name. One of his hands was holding her breast and the other one was playing with the other nipple, his fingers and mouth making her bite her lower lip. 

He started to kiss her inner thighs and his mouth was dangerously close to the place where she wanted him the most at that moment. It was almost ridiculous how only the thought of him kissing her made her moan. And he did what he knew would please her and she screamed his name and she was sure that he was smiling with arrogance while making her lose her mind. He came back to her and kissed her neck. 

"Did you miss me?" he whispered in her ears. 

She didn't reply but she did grab him by his shoulders and used all of her body strength to change the position. He laughed at her try but let himself be moved from over to under her. She also left a short laugh and she offered him a big smile before kissing him on the lips and the rest of his torso. His fingers also found the center of her and made her swear under her breath. She started to move her body around his hand, moans escaping from her mouth.

"Please… Don't…"

But he did it. He stopped and she got upset. But it didn't last long and she remembered that she was in charge. She kissed him and he felt her hand on him. She broke the kiss and smiled.

"You are a little devil." he told her as she started to caress him. "Please…" his body arch while he was looking for her. 

She would enjoy playing a little more but she wanted to find pleasure just like him so she did it. At the moment he felt her around him he gasped and she did the same. He was fully in her, fitting perfectly and she felt like screaming. And soon she did it. She started to move slowly and after a long time, she felt a little bit clumsy. He got up and offered her support. She screamed his name as she moved faster and he started to kiss her neck and breast to help her touch the climax. 

"Ah, Phillip!" 

"Damn you, Phillip!" Nicolas swore while trying to cover his ears with the pillow. 

***

The next morning, Phillip and Melanie found Nicolas in the kitchen with a cup of tea. He didn't look too good, he had dark circles around his eyes, he was pale and looked somewhere between tiredness and pure annoyance.

"Good morning!" Melanie spoke with a smile on her face.

***

While Nicolas was drinking his tea, annoyed, and the couple giggles together, Nath was still sleeping under the effect of the drink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little clumsy to write smut, but I tried.. I wanted to do it to challenge myself. What do you think?


End file.
